by Juanita | Nov 24, 2021 | Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, George's Furniture, Tables, Uncategorized
In 1978, while Cyrus and Florence Keefer were designing their new house in Middletown, PA, they remembered a small furniture store in Elizabethtown that built custom furniture. They particularly loved the unique and beautiful graining of black walnut wood. George’s Woodcrafts specializes in Black Walnut wood. Cyrus and Florence visited Georges and ordered a trestle table and chairs to fit their eat-in kitchen space.
Family tradition
A family tradition was to gather around the trestle table Sunday nights and Cyrus made sandwiches (his specialty and only time cooking) for all the families that come for the evening. Whey Cyrus passed in 1980 at a young age, the trestle table and chairs set passed on to his daughter and son-in-law, Lorri and Kurt Siffin.
The table was a sentimental piece of furniture. A pleasant reminder of our father and family home, recalls Lorri. The table has aged well. The memory marks have added character to the table. It is a piece worthy to be passes on.
Second Generation
The table set moved into the Siffin family home and received many years of loving care. It followed the family through several moves, always serving as a gathering place for family meals. When Kurt and Lorri down sized
to their current home in Long Neck, Delaware, the table and chairs went into storage.
Third Generation
After having been carefully stored for 2 years, the table set has a new home in Philadelphia, PA. Cyrus’s granddaughter, Karly Siffin, recently moved from a small apartment into a town home. They now had room for the family heirloom. The table fits perfectly in the dining space of Karly’s new home in Manayunk, PA.
“I love that this table belonged to my grandparents. It is very special to me.” – Karly
Worthy to Pass On
Each customer of George’s Furniture enjoys the ability to pass their heirlooms from one generation to another. The exceptionally high-quality construction and strong, protective finishes, allow George’s furniture to survive decades. Join the many satisfied customers and begin your family traditions of gathering around a table and enjoying the beauty of handcrafted furniture.
by Juanita | Oct 6, 2021 | Chair, customer experience, Customization, Forestry Management, Office, Uncategorized
Lumber meets finished furniture
Chris Bingaman first met George by working for his father’s lumber business, Bingaman & Sons Lumber. For many years, George would purchase raw lumber used to make the high-quality solid hardwood furniture at George’s Woodcrafts. George worked with Max, Chris’ father, to identify the group of logs that were cut to George’s particular order. Black walnut was a favor of George and is still in high demand, especially as a recently developed technique, using both the natural heartwood and sapwood of black walnut wood called Walnut Blend was made available.
Walnut Blend on Table with clear water resistant finish repelling water.
The coveted Pennsylvania cherry and red oak are in high demand, harvested by Bingaman & Sons from the ever-expanding forests of Pennsylvania. Over the years, Chris enjoyed sharing his love for natural wood and the harvest of timber. He also appreciates the quality of craftsmanship exhibited by George’s craftsmen.
Gifts for employees
As a special gift to their retiring employees, the company purchases George’s famous non- tip rocking chair. Several times, George’s employees have toured the lumber saw mill and wood drying kilns. A great way to integrate of raw lumber and finished product.
Designed to space requirements
Chris upgraded his sales office by specially ordering a large executive desk. He worked with our designers to bring his ideas and unique space needs to reality. Delivering the desk presented another challenge. The hallways were narrow with tight corners. Up the stairs and around a hairpin curve. We designed the desk with the office layout in mind. Now Chris enjoys helping customers surrounded with natural cherry grain of his executive desk.
George’s designer came and measured the space I had to use and worked with me to create a design that served all the functions I hoped for. When the desk arrived, it exceeded my expectations! It is a beautiful piece that brings a “wow” response to everyone who visits my office and it is the most enjoyable work station I have ever experienced. I am an extremely satisfied customer!!! – Chris Bingaman
Stackable Chair design
When Chris and his wife redecorated their home, they came with a unique style of dining chair. They worked with our designers to develop a new style of chair that continued the strength and comfort of George’s chairs. Another challenge of long tables is where to store all the chairs between dinner parties. A design for sturdy, stackable chairs emerged and now stands in their closet awaiting the next large gathering. The stackable chairs are stacked in groups of 5 chairs taking the space of 32x21x42h. They are available in black walnut (pictured), cherry, red oak or maple hardwood. A number of different stain colors are available.
Can’t keep it quiet
The quality and natural grain of solid wood is hard to keep quiet. Customers like Chris are sharing their love for wood and superb craftsmanship with the guest at home and the customers they meet. Come see our two showrooms and woodworking shop to see what the talk is all about. You will be amazed and see firsthand why quality speaks for itself.
by Juanita | Oct 1, 2021 | Uncategorized
Georges Furniture – Harvest Host
We are excited to invite Harvest Host RV guests to enjoy the beautiful country side of western Lancaster County, PA. Unlike the boring crowded RV parks, our quiet location provides a tranquil place to relax in the natural surroundings of farmland. You may even see the local farmer working in his field or harvesting his crops.
What is Harvest Hosts
Harvest hosts provides unique experiences for RVers while supporting independent growers and attractions. Members access a network of wineries, breweries, distilleries, farms, museums, golf courses and other unique attractions, all over the United States. It is for self contained RVers that want a break from the large RV parks while supporting the local businesses. Eat farm fresh products, drink local wine and beer, explore museums and attractions while staying overnight at no additional cost. Harvesthost.com
Available sites
We offer 3 different sites for our guests.
Site A: Slight grade, easy access. Site B: level, easy access. Site C moderate grade, harder to back into space.
Access to Property
We suggest that you access Reich’s Church Road by traveling from the North. This intersection is wider to accommodate large vehicles. GPS will probably direct you from the south since it is a slightly shorter way, however the photo below demonstrated a telephone pole on the corner and a tighter turn coming from the south.
Instruction from the North:
If traveling from Route 30: take exit toward PA 441/Columbia/Marietta. 441N to Engle Rd (GPS will say Route #743 but continue on 441 for .8 miles.)
Turn Right onto Engle Road then Right on Stackstown Rd.
Right onto Reich’s Church Rd. (GPS may say you have arrived but continue down the road to the white house, red woodshop and our showroom on right.) Follow our signs to 9 Reich’s Church Road, Marietta, PA 17547
We look forward to sharing our peaceful location, wood working shop and showroom, full of quality handcrafted custom furniture.
Hosts Chris and Juanita Horst
717-201-6755
by Juanita | Sep 25, 2021 | 50th anniversary, Ava Lee's History Corner, Events, George's Furniture, Gifts, Rocking Chairs
Small Beginning
Beginning in 1969 and for many years after that, George and I had a booth at Springs Folk Festival. We sold our wooden lamps with woven veneer shades and lathe-turned candle holders. Cross-cut stools made from a log with the bark still on the edge added to the collection. However the most popular item were the engraved signs and nameplates. Each sign was made for the customer while they waited. Ray and Gloria Becker assisted with the many customers. Ray sanded and attached chain hangers to the plaques while George did the engraving. Later, as George and his craftsman started making furniture, the collection included tables, chairs, dry sinks, hutches. George’s famous non-tip rocking chairs caught a lot of attention.
The Springs Folk Festival Craft show
The town of Springs, PA is located in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. The first weekend in October was the peak for beautiful fall foliage in the area. The stand holders demonstrated their craft which added authenticity to the event. Bus loads of people from Baltimore, Washington DC and Pittsburgh came. On a beautiful Saturday, cars lined up from nearby Grantsville, MD, waiting to find parking in the grass fields around the festival. On rainy days, cars got stuck in the fields and young car parkers needed to push them out of the mud.
Food brings crowds
Several other attractions were the food made by the Amish and Mennonite cooks. Homemade bread baked in an old-time beehive-shaped bake oven. Then covered with a generous helping of apple butter, made in a large copper kettle over a fire. Special “festival sausage” made with the “whole pig”, hams and all kinds of other local favorites. As business grew, George focused his attention more at home. In recent years, the next generation owners decided to attend the Sugarloaf Craft Festivals near cities like Philadelphia, New York, Washington DC and Baltimore.
by Juanita | Sep 21, 2021 | Uncategorized
Care for “George’s” Furniture
Caring for George’s furniture is simple and easy. No more water marks!! The finish used on all of “George’s” furniture is a durable, high quality finish and the best we have found. The finish is heat and water-resistant. You do not need to use coasters for hot and cold drinks. Warm dishes will not make white rings on the table, but if you take items directly from the oven, stovetop, or microwave, a hot pad is suggested. A good rule is “If it is not too hot for your fingers, it will not harm the table.”
Weekly Care
Furniture can be washed with a damp cloth. Duster spray may be used; however, sprays that contain wax may cause an undesirable build-up to form on the finish over a period of time.
Occasional Special Care
When you would normally polish your furniture, or to remove fingerprints, use a good grade furniture polish. we use Old English Lemon Oil, Guardsman is also a good choice.
Things to Avoid
The finish will have a chemical reaction if it comes in contact with rubber cement, airplane glue, or similar products. Permanent magic markers and cigarette burns cause permanent damage to the finish.
Finish scratch, Wood dents
The finish will scratch and the wood will dent. Be careful not to slide heavy objects across the table or counters on dressers, etc. A staple or even a hard crumb could cause surface scratch or indentation. If the damage is a deep scratch or dent and the finish is broken, the damage can be minimized. First, soak the dent with a water saturated washcloth for several hours. Then, while protecting it with a damp washcloth, apply a steam iron to the dent, this process will help swell the dent out to the original level. Please call us for advice on this process.
Able to refinish
Finally, this is solid wood furniture. It can be refinished. Having been in business more than 50 years, we have already had families who bought a table when their children were small. Than, when their family was older, they brought the table back to us, and we refinished the table top to look as good as new. Please call 1(800) 799-1685 for an estimate.
Our goal is to build the highest quality handcrafted custom furniture that is easy to care for and will exceed your expectations for years to come. Visit our showroom to begin creating your dream piece of furniture and our craftsmen will bring that dream to reality.
by Juanita | Aug 27, 2021 | 50th anniversary, Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, Rocking Chairs, Uncategorized
Thriving Furniture Manufacturing
Heather and Craig watched Georges Woodcrafts develop from the small budding business in 1974 to a thriving furniture manufacturing business it is today. Regardless of the ridiculously small showroom that required them to slide past a shelving unit to visit the rest of the store, 
Craig and Heather remember their delightful visit with George. During their first trip to the showroom, Craig learned about the amazing non-tip rocking chair. After purchasing a rocking chair, Heather found out they were expecting their first child. A larger showroom space greeted them during their next visit.
Wood working passion
George loved working with the customers to discover their unique design requests. He stopped what he was doing and gave them his undivided attention. His passion and knowledge of crafting solid hardwood furniture is an education that many of his customers experienced. A genuine artist who loved to share his passion for quality. Everyone left the showroom with a fresh look at quality furniture and a mind full of ideas.
Nobody has a finish like George’s. It’s held up all these 45 years.–Heather
Not only does George pay attention to the small details, he also delivered their furniture. Pam remembers one delivery when Georges came smelling like wood smoke from working on the farmette where the wood shop building and showrooms are located in Marietta, PA.
Furniture Collection
Craig not only purchased a rocking chair, but they added an intermediate chair for their grandchildren, a vanity bench for Heather’s spinning wheel, and a custom piece that needed to fit into a 40-inch space between the fireplace and wall. They purchased two child-size table and chair sets for their children’s families.
Craig and Heather Kegerise continue to visit George’s showroom and dream of new furniture for their house. Join our growing number of customers who love to share their discovery of handcrafted furniture Made Your Way.
by Juanita | Jul 15, 2021 | Accessories, customer experience, George's Furniture, Gifts, Rocking Chairs, Uncategorized
The ability to custom design our furniture creates great opportunities for unique wooden designs. Our craftsmen listen to the request and then work with the natural properties of wood and build strong, long-lasting products.
Wooden Creations
A permanently disabled customer could not find a quality pair of wooden crutches. She did not like the metal crutches. After finding George’s Furniture, she asked if we could make a pair of wooden crutches. The craftsman laminated walnut and maple wood together and bent them into beautiful, strong crutches. She was so thrilled that she requested a second pair before she moved to Hawaii. Our furniture is now in Hawaii providing a vigorous support for a happy customer.
Extra Large Rocker
Georges invented a non-tipping rocker at the beginning of his business in the 1970s. True to his inventive abilities, George fulfilled another unique request. A very tall, large man visited the store and requested a rocking chair.
“I was just about ready to make a bigger rocking chair.” -George Martin
Georges used the current pattern and design, tweaked the angles a bit and built a strong non-tip rocker for a very heavy and tall man. The ecstatic customer had the confidence that his rocker would hold his weight and not tip over.
Alaskan Rocker
An Alaskan searched the internet for a quality rocking chair. He desired to surprise his wife. Gerogesfurniturepa.com came up in the internet search. The rocking chair, demonstration video, convinced him this rocker was the best rocking chair available for his wife. He never saw the rocking chair until we shipped it to him in Alaska. He is delighted and loved rocking in the chair when his wife is not using it.
Wooden marble chaser
Early in Georges furniture career, he designed a marble chaser. He thought the single track was boring and step
up his game by designing a two-track chaser. The two-track marble chaser added an extra dimension. Not only does the marble roll down the track but it also races its opponent to the end. Georges featured the marble chaser as a game of marble racing during the Best Kept Secret Tour of Lancaster County, PA. Each tour attendee raced against the champion marble to win a discount or small gift.
More, More, More
A dog wooden kennel, stairways gate, crosscut critter (a natural crosscut of a walnut tree with open center), violin case, flute case, and a shadow box table displaying sand from places of travel are all designed from customers requests. What will be the next new design crafted by Georges Furniture? Visit our store and wood working shop for a close look at quality handcrafted furniture in Lancaster County, PA.
by Juanita | Jun 24, 2021 | customer experience, Customization, George's Furniture, Office, Uncategorized
Stephen and Dora started their adventure looking for quality custom design furniture for their new office space. They searched various furniture stores and websites for a long time. One website that caught their attention directed them to a small wood shop in Marietta, PA that made custom design office furniture. A thorough combing through the furniture pictures on Georgesfurniturepa.com perked their interest to explore this business in greater depth.
The first item on the list was a conference table. A raised paneled executive desk and credenza joined the completed office furniture order.
“I now have a desk that commands the respect as an executive. Behind my desk is a large wall unit with beautiful shelving.” -Dora
Flexibility of design
A trip to George’s furniture introduced the quality craftsmanship, flexibility in design and durability that characterizes all the furniture handcrafted in George’s wood shop. They learned about how solid hardwood furniture is made while watching the craftsmen create furniture during a wood shop tour. Many details, ideas, and conversations later resulted in the first of many pieces of walnut furniture. Stephen recalls the amazing attention to details displayed from the initial design phase to the final finishing of the conference table.
Custom headboard design
The personal experience and quality of craftsmanship led Stephen and Dora to fill their house with more unique handcrafted furniture. Each room required specific spacing and a desire for functionality. The next room requiring furniture was the bedroom. A specially designed headboard is a massive wall unit that looks like it was custom built in the room. It includes two large nightstands with storage units on top, a mirror sandwiched between and a valance to complete the unit. Each nightstand section had a pullout shelf for additional counter space. 
A hope chest stands at the footboard adding more storage space. While the headboard wall unit is the center attraction of the bedroom, a large dresser, chest of drawers and a double armoire bring the bedroom suite to life. All the furniture displayed wooden handles and raised panel sides. A special heart was engraved into the hope chest.
Dora says, “The walnut wood is so gorgeous.”
Concealed Functionality
As a retired police officer, Stephen wanted some hidden places for special items. Together with Anthony, our furniture designer, they designed hidden storage with unique accesses into various pieces of their furniture.
Ideas are endless
The ability to design furniture to meet personal desires is an asset that drives Stephen and Dora’s journey of creative living spaces. They look forward to designing a beach bedroom and dining room soon. The love for quality furniture spurs Stephen and Dora to share their newfound treasure with everyone they meet. Come join them in their discovery of quality furniture at George’s Furniture store and bring your dreams to a reality.
by Juanita | May 27, 2021 | 50th anniversary, Ava Lee's History Corner, George's Furniture, Uncategorized
George realized his natural gift and talent for making quality wood products and wanted to spread the word. The challenge with spreading the word about quality of hand-crafted products is finding customers who appreciate handcrafted items.
Craft shows
George first displayed his wood items at Springs Festival, Springs, PA. He skillfully created live edge furniture such as stools, benches, tables, and bookends. Thin, woven wood-strip baskets and lamp shades characterized his unique, woodworking styles. Throughout the show day, 
George engraved custom plaques ready in one hour. Other larger wood items like rockers, dry sinks, trestle table and benches were available for purchase. Customers also used the furniture to explore the different furniture style options for placing custom orders. For many years, the order placed at the craft show supplied work for the next 12 months. George not only went to Springs festival but also displayed his crafts at the Dutch Family Festival in Lancaster, PA during the summer tourist season.
First Showroom
In 1973, he rented a small showroom at 4 Center Square, Elizabethtown, PA. Later that winter he moved his furniture store to 20 S. Market Street, Elizabethtown, where he sold furniture for thirteen years. This furniture store was quite small but allowed customers to see the quality of craftsmanship made by George and his craftsmen. On Friday and Saturdays, he also had a stand at Meadowbrook Farmer’s Market, Leola, PA. George purchased a 12-acre farm where he moved his wood working shop into the dairy barn.
Showroom and wood shop tours
One added benefit our customers enjoy is touring the wood shop. George moved the showroom to the same location as the wood shop. Allowing customer to view the furniture manufacturing shows everyone the time and attention to detail given to each piece of furniture. The larger showrooms 
present a visual display of completed furniture. Larger furniture-dining room sets, bedroom suites, living room tables, entertainment centers are displayed.
Visit Today
Our two large showrooms are located 9 Reichs Church Road, Marietta, PA, Monday through Saturday. The wood-shop tour exhibits the manufacturing process from raw lumber to finished furniture. Take a trip to our location and enjoy the quality furniture and talk to our design team about a new piece of custom-made furniture. We also display our furniture at craftshows in the Eastern United States. Check our website for updated schedule.
by Juanita | May 3, 2021 | customer experience, Customization, Events, George's Furniture, Uncategorized
George’s Difference
One of George’s differences is the ability to tour our wood working shop and see our furniture production. Not only do customers tour our wood shop, but they can also schedule to see their own furniture as it progresses through the wood shop.
See furniture order hand crafted
“My wife and I had been furniture shopping for over a year and decided it was time to buy. While my wife was getting ready, I decided to make one last internet search for Lancaster County furniture stores. I was positive that we had already visited every furniture store so I was not optimistic 
about finding something new. George’s Furniture appeared on a list of stores we had previously visited, some of them multiple times. They were located near Maytown so I clicked on their website.” -Tom
Tom and Karen worked with our designers to create the perfect dining set that meets the specific needs and interests. They also scheduled an appointment to see their furniture in process. During their unique tour, they saw the chairs ready for assembly. The artisan carefully placed glue into the precisely angled holes drilled into in the seat for the chair legs. Tom and Karen observed the chair leveling process to make sure the chair will sit level in their home.
“I didn’t realize that so much work goes into making furniture.” — Tom
The finished table waited in the completed area. A bench is ready for assembly. The glued together coffee table wood top waited for shaping and edge routing. The stained panty waited for the final clear water-resistant coat of catalyzed conversion varnish. The bed not started.
Assembly lines vs hand crafted
Several minutes into the tour, Tom asked about the difference between George’s furniture process and other furniture manufacturing. He referred to the cost and time difference of mass production assembly lines. Mass
production uses production lines, large sheets of plywood and particleboard in the construction. They spend little time on matching grain and preparation (planning, cutting, and gluing together the solid wood) for assembly.
The path to quality
Handcrafted custom furniture made at George’s shop displays the careful attention to the wood grain, design, durability, and strength of the construction. Each artisan selects properly dried solid wood boards, cuts them to length, joints, and thickness plains the surfaces to prepare for gluing the wood pieces together. The furniture is ready for assembly after construction of all the individual parts (legs, skirts, tops, sides, drawers: fronts, sides, bottom-all solid wood, raised panel doors, rungs, seats, chair top, tongue-groove backing, etc.)
Next, they stain it, and apply a clear coat of finish. The artisan signs and dates their finished piece before an all-over light sanding and final application of water-resistant clear coat of spray-top to bottom, inside and out. Next to last stop – the hardware, table slides, and tongue-groove backing. Last stop is the storage area where it waits for the completion of the other pieces in the order and delivery to the customer’s house.
Beginning the furniture process
“We were met by Anthony upon our arrival. After explaining what we were looking for, he expertly guided us
through all the options. When ordering custom made furniture there are lots of decisions to make. After several hours our order was finalized. -Tom
See your furniture in process
Our furniture was recently delivered and we are very happy with all the pieces. They are gorgeous and exactly as we ordered. The entire process from beginning to end was very pleasant and trouble free. We visited the shop and saw several of our pieces while in production. -Tom
Come and experience the George’s difference. The unique process of designing a new piece of furniture and scheduling to see its handcrafting journey enhances the furniture search. Tour two large showrooms, explore new ideas and see the quality of craftsmanship.
In closing, my wife and I would like to sincerely
thank everyone at George’s Furniture. -Tom and Karen
